Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin grew to become the faces of the Moon touchdown period. Elon Musk’s Mars period might get a really completely different public face in Chun Wang, a cryptocurrency billionaire whose fortune traces again to Bitcoin mining.
Wang is anticipated to guide a future SpaceX Starship mission that may fly previous Mars and return to Earth. SpaceX has not introduced a launch date, and the plan nonetheless will depend on Starship proving it could safely carry people far past Earth’s orbit.
From Apollo heroes to billionaire passengers
Personal spaceflight has already moved by way of its celeb part. In April 2025, Blue Origin flew Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, and Kerianne Flynn on its NS-31 New Shepard mission. The all-female suborbital flight lasted minutes, nevertheless it drew heavy consideration worldwide.
Wang’s deliberate mission is way extra bold than a brief journey to the sting of house. The Mars flyby might reportedly final round two years, making it a a lot tougher take a look at of each the passenger and the spacecraft. If SpaceX pulls it off, Wang might turn out to be one of many first people to journey towards Mars, even with out touchdown there.
Wang isn’t new to non-public spaceflight. He beforehand commanded SpaceX’s Fram2 mission, a Crew Dragon flight that carried 4 civilian astronauts over Earth’s polar areas in 2025. The mission lasted a number of days and gave Wang precise orbital flight expertise earlier than his deliberate soar to Starship. That doesn’t make the Mars flyby any much less bold, nevertheless it does imply SpaceX isn’t selecting somebody with no prior time in house.
Musk’s Mars dream nonetheless wants a working automobile
Elon Musk has lengthy stated SpaceX desires to achieve Mars. Starship is the rocket constructed for that aim, however it’s nonetheless being examined.
SpaceX’s upgraded Starship V3 launched on Could 22, 2026, after an earlier scrub resulting from a launch tower challenge. The uncrewed take a look at reportedly achieved most of its objectives, together with stage separation and mock Starlink satellite tv for pc deployment, earlier than ending with a splashdown within the Indian Ocean and erupting into a large fireball. SpaceX stated the fiery finish was intentional, as the corporate didn’t plan to get better or reuse the experimental spacecraft.
Starship has not carried people but, so Wang’s Mars mission continues to be a good distance from taking place. For now, the plan will depend on SpaceX proving that the rocket can safely take individuals far past Earth.